for better or worse
by Billie1
Summary: Kim is going through a rough time and Walter's there for her.     I would also like to thank my friend Isabel for her help with the story and telling me what a great job I was doing and to keep doing it until I was finished. Thanks hun.


Title: For Better or Worse

Author: Billie Reid

Rating: PG13 for violence

Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine they belong to CC and 1013 productions.

Summary: Kim in going through a rough time and Walter's there for her.

April 15th 1997

J. Edgar Hoover Building

A.D. Skinner's Office

My name is Kim cook and I have been working for Walter Skinner for eight years now at the FBI. He is a very wonderful boss. He's nice, sweet, caring and when need be, a hard ass.

Two years ago I started dating Jeff. He was sweet but not like Walter. A different kind of sweet. This past year Jeff started to become very jealous when I would stay late and help Walter with extra paper work and making reservations and assigning cases to agents. There's only so much you can get done in your eight hours day that's why I stay to get the other things done.

When I'd get home he'd yell at me and tell me that I should have been home hours ago and that that's where he wants me to be. I have always told him that there was more to get done and that the money comes in handy. It wasn't until about six months ago that he started hitting me when I would get home. And I don't mean just a hit on the arm or something I mean like punches to the face and chest, those would hurt pretty bad. I'm pretty sure I went though a lot of cover up make up to hide it from others.

It never failed that when I would get to work and Walter would show up that he would know something was wrong with me. I would never tell him the truth though I just told him I over slept. But he still knew. Always told me if I wanted to talk he'd be there for me. That I was thankful for.

I had stayed after work to help Walter with some last minute things since he was in meetings all day and I was too so I could take notes. Then typing them up and filing them. Takes a lot. There was just so much to do and neither of us could get caught up. I hear the door open and looked over at it. Walter was standing there. "Why don't you head home Kim, I'm still going to be an hour or so. But you look tired. I will see you in the morning. Good Night." He smiled at me.

"Are you sure Sir, I don't mind helping." I asked honestly.

"Yeah I'm sure. Go on home." He smiled and went back into his office.

I sighed and finished the file I was on and put it away. Shutting down everything I turned the light off and headed home. It wasn't until now I saw the time. almost nine at night. I sure hope Jeff isn't home or that he's at least in bed.

When I arrive home Jeff doesn't even give me time to take off my coat. "Where the HELL have you been?" He shouts.

I'm shocked. He has no right treating me like this and I don't know what to do half the time. "I was at work. We where very busy today." I tell him.

He raises his arm and I can see it coming. He punches me in the face. "I'd have thought by now you would learn to be home on time." And then another one, this one knocking me to the ground..

I raise my arms up to block his flying ones that keep coming towards me. "Stop! it hurts." I scream back at him. He never listens though. When he stops he heads to bed, like always.

I lay there on the floor and cry. I never go to the bed after he does this. I don't want to be near him. I sleep on the couch. As I lay on the floor I can feel my face start to get puffy now. I know it'll be bruised tomorrow. I stand up and head for the bathroom. When I look in the mirror I am blown away. This is worst then the other times. There's no way I will be able to go to work and no one notice. I wonder if I should call and tell Walter I wont be in tomorrow or wait till in the morning? I never know what to do. I change into my pajama's and head to the couch. I need sleep.

When I wake in the morning Jeff is already left for the day and I sigh with relieve. I slowly get up and head for a mirror. I need to see how bad this is before I decide what to do. As I look into the mirror I gasp. It's very bruised I now know what I am going to do. I pick up my cell phone and call Walter at home. I know he'll be there.

"Hello?" He says in a sleepy voice.

"Morning sir, This is Kim, um.. I'm not going to be able to come into work today. I'm sorry."

"I know your voice." I can hear a smile there but then hear it fade off. "Is everything ok?"

"Um…right now yes. I'll see you later. Thanks." I don't give him time to say no or ask anything else. I hang up the phone and grab an ice pack and head back to sleep.

Hours have passed and I finally wake up and get dressed. It's almost five and I know most of the employees have left work for the day. Yet Walter would still be there. I just don't want to see Jeff when he gets home. I have to get out of here. I head for work.

As I enter the building I hang my head so no one can see my shiner. As I approach my office I shut the door and walk forward. I knock on the door because I know he knows I'm not really here today. I can hear him push his chair up against the wall and then I hear him say ouch. He must have hit his knee or foot again on his desk. I've been meaning to move those out some so he wouldn't. I look down at the door knob and see it moving and the door start to open. I glance up at him and I can tell he's shocked. "Oh my god….KIM!" He glances past me and then pulls me into his office. After he shuts the door I feel his hands on my arms and he's guiding me to the couch.

I start crying as I sit down. I don't know why. I thought I cried a lot last night.

"What happened Kim?" He says looked at my face.

He must think I'm pathetic. "Would you believe I fell?" I ask.

"No, that doesn't look like bruises from a fall….what really happened?" He is holding my hand now.

"Jeff…..doesn't like it when stay late at work." I say through my tears and sobs. "He says I should quite and stay home all the time. That, that's where I belong." I sigh, it feels good to tell someone.

"Oh my god! Where is he.. I'll beat the crap out of him!"

I smile at him. "No…please don't."

"You have to report it."

"I can't , he'll probably beat me again if he knew I told anyone."

"Would you at least let me fill out a report and we keep it here just in case it continues?" He asks.

"That will be ok." I tell him and watch as he walks over to his desk and gets the paper work. I now know I just gave him more work today. He also grabbed a camera. Must be for evidence. He takes a few picture and I then tell him everything that happened and how long it's been going on. I can see the anger build up in him. I feel bad now. "I'm sorry if this is hard for you. You don't have to." I pause. "I'm also sorry I gave you more work today. I know it's been busy lately."

"No, don't worry about it and I need to do this.. Not just for you.. But what if he does this to some one else."

I nod my head at him and he continues. When he's done he walks back over and sits next to me. I lower my head to shield my face from his eyes again. I don't like having people see me like this.

I can see Walter's hand move towards my face slowly. "Sorry I just want to have a look at them closely."

I look up at him and can see him wench.

"It looks very painful Kim." He says and leans forward. I don't know what to do. He kisses my forehead and then my cheek and my nose. My breath is stuck in my throat. My boss is kissing me. Well, kind of anyways. Just something so out of place for him. I continue looking at him and he pulls back some. I get a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach and look him in the eyes, then to his lips. They look so inviting. He's doing the same with me and before I know it he's leaning forward again and kissing me. God, he tastes good. I'm sure he started out with a few light kisses to make the pain go away, something like a parent would do to their child if they got hurt.

I feel his hands begin to wonder over my body as we continue to make out on his couch. I feel him pull back some and I look at him instantly, breathless.

"If you don't want to… just tell me…"

God, how do I tell him I want nothing more then to make love to him but that will only give Jeff more reason to kill me. All those thoughts leave my head when I look into his eyes. He does really care and wants to do nothing but protect me. "I want to…" I say in a whisper. I see a BIG smile form on his face.

He leans forward again and starts kissing me more. He moves so that there's more room on the couch for the two of us and he towers over me. I lay on my back and I find that my hands are rubbing his back and the nape of his head. My legs move to make room for him. All the times I have thought of this, this isn't how I would have imagined it. I moan as we kiss. Even though my face hurts, I am getting over it.

We enjoy each other's company for a long time. Being with this man is the beset thing ever. I've seen a side of Walter Skinner I never thought I'd see, same goes with him, even though he knows I'm now getting beat at home, I can still tell he cares about me. This man here in my arms is amazing. He even saw the bruise on my hip when we had are fun.

When we are through we lay there in each others arms for awhile, breathless.

I wrap my arms around him and we lay like that for awhile. I could so get use to this if it wasn't for Jeff…JEFF! Shit, what am I going to do now? I was so caught up in Walter that the one small thought I had of Jeff went right out the window. If he finds out about this I'm history. I lean my head against his shoulder and I hit my bruise. I moan and touch my face.

Walter pulls back and looks down at me. "I'm sorry, I hit my bruise." I tell him as I rub it lightly.

He leans down and kisses it. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, you didn't do it." I say and touch his arm. He sits up and grabs our clothes. I sit up too and take my clothes from his hand. Putting his boxers and pants back on he sits back down and looks at me. "I'm sorry about that. Really I am… I didn't mean for this to happen. It's just that…." He stops talking.

I finished putting my panties and my pants back on and sat down to listened to him. What was he trying to say? I hope he doesn't think he violated me. "Walter….Stop….Please? I know you didn't plan this. Me either… " It then dawns on me that he wasn't quite done talking to begin with. "It's just that what?" I ask. I really wanted to know.

"It's just that I hate seeing you in pain and I …I don't know what I'm trying to say, I'm sorry." He stands up as he puts his shirt on. I know there's more to it but I don't want to push. I put my bra and shirt back on and walk over to him. "Thanks for making me feel loved. I haven't felt that in a long time." I tell him and smile.

He returns my smile. "I would rather you not go home to night. No telling what he might do. Why don't you come home with me I will get some ice packs for those bruises." He says as he shuts down his computer and turns the little light on the desk off. I just nod in agreement.

The next day at work, I can't help but smile. I try not to over do it because people will think I'm weird. A woman with bruises on her face is now smiling? To weird. I hang my head as I walk to my office. I wonder how Walter will act towards me today. The day after is weird. Not sure why. Is it because they all of a sudden feel shy around each other? I sit at my desk and start my day, Walter normally shows up shortly after I do. Twenty minutes pass and he finally arrives. I look up and great him. "Good Morning Sir."

"Kim…" He says as he walks right into his office. Yup, It's going to be weird. Nothing happened at his house. Only here in the office. I sigh and look at the door. He's left it open and I lean over my desk and pier in and see him sitting there looking at me. I smile at him and he returns my smile. I get back to work.

The day passes with out any problems and it's soon time to head home. I walk to the door and knock. "Come in." I hear from the other side and open the door and walk in. I glance over at the couch and smile, I can't help it. "If there isn't anything else, I need to get home." I shrug and kind of point to my face. I don't want it to happen again.

"Not a problem. I will see you on Monday. Need anything, call me." He winks and I smile. "Have a good weekend Walter." I tell him.

Three months later- July 22nd 1997

Kim's house

I've been trying to get home early because I really don't like to be hit but sometimes I do show up half an hour to almost an hour and all he does is just yell. That I can take, hitting I can't. The last few days I haven't felt good. Haven't been able to keep anything down and getting dizzy. I had an appointment the other day and I'm just waiting for them to call me back. I lay on the couch watching TV when my phone rings. I reach over and answer it. "Hello." I say as I put the phone to my ear. "Yes, this is Kim." I answer their questions. "I'm what?" I'm so shocked I can't breath right. I take a few short long breaths. "I can't be…" I don't want a child if their father is going to treat them like he does me. "Thanks for calling. Yeah I'll call to make another appointment in a few weeks for a checkup." I then hang up the phone and lay there crying. Why is this happening to me? I soon fall asleep.

I'm woken up when I hear the door slam shut. Great, Jeff must have had a bad day. I wonder if this will make it better. I see him walk in and look over at me. "What's wrong with you?" He asks. I sit up and look at the floor with the tissues laying there.

"I received a call today from my doctor. I haven't been feeling good lately and went to get a check up. Well, they told me that…..that I'm pregnant." I say and I don't really want to look at him.

"YOUR WHAT!" He screams and comes towards me. I flinch a little. He grabs my arms and pulls me up off the couch. "I DON"T WANT ANY KIDS!" He lets go of my one arm and swings and punches me.

"Jeff, stop your hurting me…." I say and flinch even more when I see his hand coming towards me again. This time he lets go of my other arm and the force of the hit knocks me to the floor. I start crying, I hate crying.

"I'M LEAVING!" He says and grabs his coat and keys and leaves. I'm thankful for that but what does he mean he's leaving? For good or for the night?

The next morning I get ready for work and again use tons of cover up on the bruises. I was at ease this morning with Jeff being gone. I arrive at work on time and get started on the days work ahead of me. Walter gets there soon and smiles at me as he walks to his office. "Morning Kim….." He stops at the door and turns back at me. I glance up at him. "Again?" He asks as he touches his cheek. I know what he's asking.

"Yeah" I lower my head then and get back to work. I don't want to get into it right now.

"Well, if you need to do touch ups, my bathroom in my office is open for use." He tells me and enters his office.

"Thanks." I say and start typing up the reports I have to do.

A few hours pass and I feel like I'm going to be sick. I rest my hand on my belly and glance towards the hall way. Do I go that way or do I use Walters bathroom. It is closer and I wont have everyone else starring at me as I throw up. That's all I do need at the moment. I stand up and walk to his door and give a small knock, I don't give him time to answer as I rush to his bathroom and am leaned over the toilet and throwing up what little I had this morning.

I could sense him watching me and being worried. I jump a little as I feel his hand on my back and his other one holding my hair. I continue throwing up and then just sit there a moment. He's let me hair go and isn't touching me anymore. I hear the water running and then he's handing me a washcloth. I take it and thank him. He sits down and just watches me. I glance at him. "Are you ok Kim?"

I nod and stand up. I hurry up and grab the nearest thing I can before I fall over from this wave of dizziness. I fell Walter's hands on my sides to help steady me. "Thanks." I tell him.

He picks me up and carries me to the couch. Why is it just about every time we talk and touch it has to be with this couch. I give a small smile to that thought. As I sit back against it I let the washcloth rest on my forehead. I feel the couch shift under his weight of sitting down next to me. "Are you sure your ok Kim? What's going on? I know something is." He takes my hand.

I look over at him. "Well.. do you want the good news or the bad news first?" I ask him.

"Good news bad news? Now your scarring me." The grip on my hand tightens.

"Ok.. good news first then… Jeff left." I look at him.

"That is great news!" He pulls me to him and gives me a hug. I return the hug. I sigh some at the feel of him this close to me again. I try not to think about it. He pulls back from me. "So, what's the bad news?" He asks with a frown on his face.

"Well, I'm….I'm pregnant." I look him in the eye. "Now I'm tied to him forever. He doesn't want kids though. When I told him last night about the doctor calling me and telling me the news he started yelling and then beat me again and then said he was leaving. I felt relieve but then I don't know if he was leaving for good or for the night." I pause. "Maybe he'll come back tonight and kill me because he doesn't want kids."

Walter has a hold of my hand again and looks at me. "I know you've been letting me make a report about all of the beatings and keeping pictures with it. Do you mind?" He asks. He should know I wouldn't. It would help if things got worse.

"Not at all." I tell him and stay seated there as he walks over and pulls out my file, to which keeps getting thicker. He also grabs the camera and walks back over to me. He takes the pictures first. "Is that all you have is the one on your face and your arm?" He asks.

"Yes." I tell him.

"Are you sure? Last time you had one on your hip." He tells me and then I remember how he found out. I blush a little at that one.

"I'm pretty sure that's all I have." I give him a small smile.

"Good." He then asks me a few questions and has me sign them again and date it.

I notice him look towards my stomach. Maybe someone is ok with this pregnancy. "What?" I ask him.

"Nothing, I just hate that your tied to him like you mentioned. I hope the child wont be like it's father." He frowns.

I reach out and rest my hand on his arm. "Well, having me as a mother there's no way I'll let that happen."

"You will make a great mother." He says and smiles.

Four Months later - Nov. 13th 1997

Kim's House

Walter was always there for me. Helping me at home, giving me time off for my doctors appointments and making sure I ate right. He even would help me do the house work and get the baby's room ready. I didn't want to know what I was having, so I planed on doing a natural room. I wanted to paint it blue with white clouds and then put up glow in the dark stars, but Walter wouldn't let me paint it. He offered to do it for me, saying the paint fumes wouldn't be good for me. So while he was painting I would go shopping for things I needed like the crib, changing table and dresser. I also picked out a few clothes too and stocked up on diapers. Those sure wont go to waist.

My mom was thrilled about me being pregnant. She was planning the baby shower for January 02nd since My due date was January 25th. She figured that it was close enough to my due date and I would have everything before the baby gets here. I smile as I rest my hand on my belly.

I had arrived back home and when I walked into the house with a few bags in my hand all I could smell was paint. He's really been busy at it, that's for sure. I set the bags down and walk into the nursery. I see Walter is still painting and I look around. "That is a very nice color." I say and he whips around and looks at me. "KIM!" He said walking towards me. "I don't want you in the house. At least not for awhile with the paint fumes."

I look up at him and smile. I wasn't even thought about that. "Great.. now what I am I going to do?" I sigh and lean against the door.

I see him reach into his pants pocket. "Here, you can stay with me for a few days while the fumes clear. Go ahead on over. I'm almost finished here." He hands me the keys.

I look at him. "You don't have to do that. I can get a hotel or something."

"No, I insist. Please?" He just watches me.

I nod my head and take the keys. "Thank you for helping me and letting me stay with you." I smile. "Well, the least I can do it make dinner or pick something up. Anything special you have in mind?"

He thinks about it for a moment. "How about something small, like, Chinese? Are you up for that?"

I thought about it for awhile. I haven't tried it since I've become pregnant. Guess I could try it. "I should be able to." I nodded at him. I then leave and go to my room to pack a few bags with things like a few pairs of clothes and night clothes, toiletries and make-up soon followed. Once I had the things I needed I walked back to the nursery. "Ok, I'll see you in about an hour?" She asked him.

"Yeah, that should work. Tomorrow I'll come by and paint the clouds." He tells me. "You need help with those?" He saw the bags in my hand. He puts down the paint brush and walks over and takes the bags. "Here, let me." He then followed me to the car. He was a little shocked at seeing the back seat full of stuff. "How'd you get all this in there? I sure as hell hope you didn't pick it up on your own!" He said as he opened the trunk. I had the guy from the store put the seat down and then slid everything in long ways.

"Of course not! The guys helped a lot." I tell him and smile.

"Good." He pulled out the crib and carried it in to the house. "I'll just put these in the living room for now." He called out as he put the crib on the floor and walked back out to get the rest. After a few trips he was done and walked back out to me. "Have a safe trip I'll see you in awhile." He said and walked back inside. I smiled and got in the car. It was a good thing I knew where he lived. I drove to his place and parked my car. I grab my bags and head to the door, unlocked it and walked on in. I don't know what room he's going to want me to stay in so I just sit on the couch for awhile and turn on the TV. I reach forward and grab the phone book and look for the Chinese Restaurants phone number.

I call and order a good amount of food to be delivered in about an hour from now. That way it will give me time to set the table and make dessert. I'm kind of glad he didn't want something to big. I wasn't really up to cooking. Once the table is set and dessert ready I head back to the living room and sit there watching TV.

All of a sudden I hear the door bell and sit up with a start. I must have fallen asleep. That fast movement hurt my stomach. I rest my hand over my belly as I walk to the door. As I open it I see it's the Chinese food I had ordered. "Hi. How much is it?" I ask as I take the food from him and set it on the table and grab my purse.

"31.99 ma'am." He tells me and I hand him $35.00. "Have a good night and thank you." I tell him. "Your welcome." He says and leaves. I shut the door and carry the food into the kitchen and put the food onto plates and the appetizers in the middle of the table. This would be the perfect dinner if I was able to have a glass of wine. I sigh and glance down at my belly. "It's ok…mommy wouldn't do that to you." I smile and look in the refrigerator for something to go with the food.

I've got my head in the fridge but I still hear the front door open and close. I then hear Walter enter the room and stop. "Well, hello there." He says. I shake my head and stand straight up and look over at him. "Hello." I give him a smile.

"Smells good in here…" He looks over at the food on the table. "I just need to wash up. I have paint like everywhere!"

"Ok, that's fine. I was just getting drinks. What would you like?" I ask him.

"Um, how about juice or milk" He gives me a few ideas. "Ok. Thanks." I watch as he leaves and washes up. I pull out the milk and then two glasses. I pour the milk and set them on the table with our food.

When he returns from washing up we both eat the food and talk about different things from work to the nursery. I'm glad he's helping me I know I wouldn't be able to do it on my own even though I know I would try my best. I haven't been able to locate Jeff even though I don't want to but I will need to know where he is so I can get child support. Walter wants me to start my maternity leave come January 02nd. I don't want to but I don't want to argue with him.

After super we both clear the table and put the leftovers in the fridge. I then start doing the dishes and he walks over next to me and starts helping. I'm impressed, a man that loves helping. Even though I knew that much, but with the dishes? I never would have guessed. Once I wipe the table off and put the wet rag over the middle of the sink I look at him and smile.

"Want to watch a movie?" He asks.

"It's been a long time since I sat and watched a movie." I tell him. "Sounds like a good idea." We both walk to the living room and sit on the couch. He turns the TV on and then to the movie channels and he finds something on, Volcano.

About thirty minutes into it I start yawning but try to hide it. I'm not really ready to head to bed.

"Why don't you lay down?" I see him pat his lap. I just look at him not sure what he means. "You can rest your head here and put your feet up on the end of the couch." He grabs a small blanket and hands it to me to cover up a little. I smile and lay down. My head is now resting on his lap and my one hand rests on his leg. My legs are stretched out and it feels nice to relax. I can feel that he's uncomfortable at first so I pat my side some. "You can rest it here. It wont hurt I promise." I tell him and smile when I feel his hand land on my side and notice his fingers are down over my belly some. It's not long before I doze off a little. His fingers are playing with my hair and it is so relaxing. I'm not quit asleep. I feel the baby kick and Walter remove his hand from my side. Must have startled him. I don't move, just lay there like nothing happened, wondering what he's going to do next. I feel him lean over and his eyes looking at my face. He then sits back and I feel him move his hand to under my shirt. He must want to feel the baby kicking with no barriers.

I lay there with a smile on my face as I feel his hand rubbing my belly. I then feel another kick and his hand becomes still. When the kicking stops he starts rubbing again. Then the kicking would start up. I moan a little and his hand stops. I hear him start talking. "I'm sorry." He says as he removes his hand from me all together.

I turn and look up at him. "It's ok. I just think neither of you want me to get any sleep tonight." I tease him.

"I said I was sorry." He says again. "It's just… I wanted to feel the baby kick. I mean I felt it when I had my hand resting there but I wasn't expecting it. I couldn't help myself." He gives me those big puppy dog eyes and I can never be mad at him.

"I said it was ok. I meant it.. I don't mind. I don't think the baby liked the food though." Now it's me resting my hand on my stomach. I sit up slowly.

He puts his hand on my back. "You ok?" He asks.

"You have Tums or Rolaids or something?" I take those once in awhile. They have calcium so I know it'll be ok to take while I'm pregnant.

He stand sup and leaves the living room. He soon returns with a bottle in his hand. "Here you go." He hands them to me.

I take some and sit there for awhile, hoping they kick in soon.

"I'm sorry I picked Chinese." He says as he puts his hand on my back again.

"It's ok. The food was good. I just think the baby doesn't like it. Maybe it was to hot." I shrug and relax into his arms. He holds me for awhile.

"You should head to bed. You must be very tired." He suggested to me.

"Do you have a guest room?" I ask.

"Just my room and the couch here." He replies.

"Could I get some sheets and blankets as well as a pillow?"

"No, you can stay in my room. I'm not letting you sleep on this hard couch." He moves a little on the couch showing me how hard it really is.

"Fine.. but only if you join me. I mean.. this couch is way to hard…" I smile at him. He laughs at me and we both turn the lights and TV off and head that way. I grabbed the bag on our way.

One month later - Dec 19th 1997

Kim's House

I can't believe it's been a month since I stayed at Walters. It's gone by so fast. I am putting up the last few things for Christmas, seeing as it's only five days from now. I do this every year even though I don't really have any one come over. I love this time of year. I have invited Walter over before, way before Jeff came into the picture. I have invited him over this year. He's done a lot for me these past few months and I don't know how I will ever repay him.

There's a knock on my door and then it slowly opens. I look over and see Walter. "Hey." I say to him. "Glad you could come over. I had called and ordered a pizza it should be here soon. I also need someone to stretch and put the star on the tree. I'm to short and fat." I say as I hold out the star.

He walks over to me and takes it. "Pizza sounds great and Short.. Maybe.. But fat…of course not.. Your perfect." He smiled and puts the star on. "Prefect…just like you." He says and then looks at me. "What else needs done?"

"Well, the tinsel and lights on the tree, a few decorations around the room and candles. I need candles it just goes with Christmas. Um….want eggnog or hot coca?" I ask.

"Hot coca would be great." He tells me and I walk to the kitchen as he starts to put the tinsel on the tree.

I return to the living room a few minutes later and hand him a cup. He takes it and I smile at the tree. "Looks great." He was just finishing with the lights.

"Thanks. I also hung your stocking and found a few Christmas candles in the box so I put them on the tables."

I smile at him. "Wow, looks great." I take a sip of my hot coca. "Did you happen to find the wreaths in any of the boxes?"

"Yeah you had two." He pulls them out and shows me.

"Great. One goes on the front door and the other I put in the dinner room on the hook in there." I take the one and put it on the door. I walk back in and over to the boxes looking for anything else. "I don't think I need anything else." He had helped a lot.

"Ok. Do you want me to put these away for you?"

"That would be great. They go up stairs in the attic. Just put them to the right." I smile and sit down and finish my hot coca as he heads up the stairs. My door bell rings and I yell to Walter. "I'll get it." I stand up and walk over to the door and answer it. "How mu…"I start to ask and realize who is standing there. "Jeff…?" I say in a whisper. He's been gone this whole pregnancy and just now decides to show up. I see he'd looking at my stomach.

"You know.. You have some nerve to be pregnant." He starts out saying.

"What?" I'm confused.

"YOU HAVE TO BE SOME KIND OF SKANKY ASS WHORE TO BE PREGNANT WHEN YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND TO BEGIN WITH ." He yells at me.

"What are you talking about?" I ask him.

"THE BABY ISN'T MINE. WE HAVEN'T SLEPT TOGETHER IN OVER A YEAR. THERE'S NO WAY THAT CHILD IS MINE AT ALL." He takes a step towards me and I can see that arm raise and I know what is coming.

"JEFF! NO!" I yell back and his fist connections with my face and I'm knocked to the ground. I then feel him continue hitting me a few times. It's then I hear Walter.

"FREEZE! FBI!"

"And you must be the bastard that got her pregnant!" Jeff says and I glance up at him at that point and see him put his hands in the air. I see Walter pull his cuffs out and cuff him. "You using those on her too?" he asks and I'm sure Walter would knock him out at that point. But I can't focus right now.

My vision is in and out but I can still kind of hear some things. I try to keep my eyes open to keep an eye on Walter. I see him rush to the phone. I can only hope he's calling for help. Dispatch must have answered ,Walter tells them his ID number so they can verify a badge number to speed the process of getting a medical team to the scene. "Its a 421 (sick or injured person). Situation was 417 (domestic disturbance) - turned into 415 (assault / battery). " he confirmed. Dispatch was quick in issuing back up and a medical unit to the given location. "10-4 Agent skinner, medical units are on the way" Skinner felt hardly any relief in hearing that given he was both pissed and worried. "situation on subject?" dispatch questioned much as Skinner was loath to admit. "10-15 (subject in custody)" he stated while glaring at the subject who was cuffed. Dispatch filed the report. "10-4 Agent Skinner." dispatch confirmed. Skinner then hung up.

He knelled down next to me and as I try to glance up at him my head continues to pound. I try to talk but all that comes out is a moan.

"Shhhh….don't try to move or talk. Helps on the way." He tells me. My eyes give up and close.

The Medical Team soon arrives, along with backup, I hear Walter was quick to inform them as they brought up questions. He had to think for a moment being so close to the situation. "White, Caucasian. Female. Late twenties early thirties. Suffered head trauma not sure bout further injuries." He stated. While he let the Mt's break out a stretcher and check over Kim. Walter paused a moment as he watched them take care of Kim. "OH one more thing. She's pregnant." He informs them.

"Thank you sir." The one guy told him and then put a heart monitor on my finger and a blood pressure cuff on my arm. They checked my head and put a bandage on it to stop the bleeding.

"Sir, we are taking her to Washington General. Her vitals are weak and we're worried about the baby. We don't have anything to check on her but we need to get her there like NOW!" the medic tells Walter and all goes black now.

Hours later I slowly wake and open my eyes. It's kind of bright in here. I take a deep breath and look around the room. Where am I? I think to myself as I see a monitor screen next to me and as I look down at my arm I see there's an IV hooked to me as well.

"Kim?" I hear Walter whisper.

I look over to the side of the bed and see him sitting there. When he sees I'm up he stands up and moves closer to the bed and sits on the edge. He takes my hand in his.

"You had me so worried." He reaches out and brushes my cheek with the back of his fingers.

"What happened?" I ask him.

"Jeff showed up started yelling and then beat you again. I pulled my gun out and then hand cuffed him, but not before he knocked you out. I'm so sorry I wasn't there sooner. he's in jail now so there's no way he'll bother us again." He kisses my hand.

I noticed he said Jeff wouldn't bother US, I wonder if he noticed too. I give him a small smile. "Am I ok other then the bumps and bruises?" I ask him.

He shock his head no. I start to get worried. My hand rushes to my belly and I feel small. Oh no! "WALTER!" I start to freak out.

"Shhhh…. Your ok. From the stress and shock of being beat you went into labor. You where so out of it that they did a cesarean." He tells me. "There is one other thing. Something the doctors where shocked of."

I look at him. "Walter, please tell me the baby is ok."

"The babies are ok."

"good." I sigh with relieve. It then dawns on me what he just said. "Babies? What do you mean, babies?" I asked.

"Kim, you have twins." He smiles at me. I close my eyes and a small smile spreads across my face. I had no idea. I remember what Jeff had said. I do remember him showing up at the house now. It's been over a year since Jeff and I had sex. I thought about it for a moment. I open my eyes and look right into Walters. The look he had in his eyes where nothing but love, passion and caring. The same that was there back in April when we made love at the office, I smile. "Don't you mean WE have twins?" I ask and squeeze his hand.

It takes him a moment and looks at me with a questioned look on his face. "I didn't ever think about it until Jeff mentioned it. Believe me, I was hoping like hell the baby was your's but I didn't want to say anything incase it wasn't. But I never really paid that much attention to how long it's been since I was last with Jeff. I do recall pretty much stopping the sex part when he first started hitting me. You're the only one I've been with. And the only one I even plan on being with again!" I tell him and smile.

He smiled too and leans forward and we kiss. I wrap my arms around him and we continue kissing for a few minutes. I then pull back and smile. "Think you can get a nurse to bring them in so I can see them?" I'm drying to see my kids. I can't believe I don't remember having them. Jeff is a real asshole. He robbed me of my memories. I hope Walter was at least there so he can tell me how it went. He nods and walks out of the room. I'm sure he knows where to find someone. I lay there and shake my head. "Twins?" I say at loud. "WOW! I can't believe it. And now I'm talking to myself. Way to go Kim." I laugh some. I see Walter return. "They will be right here." He tells me.

"I wish I had known. I would have bought two cribs."

"There's no way of you knowing. The doctors said when they listened to the heart beat they only heard one. The other one was hiding. They are both fine. Honestly. Stop worrying ok?" He stops talking just as I see a nurse push in a bassinet followed by another nurse doing just the same. "Would you like me to bring them to you ma'am?" A nurse spoke up.

"I'll get them. Thank you." Walter says as he stands up and walks over to them.

They smile at him and leave the room. I watch as he carefully picks up the baby and walks over to me. "This here is baby A…boy." He smiles as he lays the baby in my arms and I smile down at him. "Hi baby boy…I'm mommy." I say to him and Walter is over picking up baby B. He returns to the bed and sits down. "And this here is baby B….girl." He says and I'm in aww.

"Boy and Girl?" I smile as I lean forward to look at our daughter. "Hi baby girl…..I'm mommy. And Daddy is holding you." I sigh and lean back against the bed. "Guess someone needs names." I say to them and glance at Walter. At least he was there for my pregnancy and did help me a lot. So it wasn't really a shock. I already thought of him as a father figure to my child no matter what happened. Walter looks at me as I sit there. "You do realize it's just a five days before Christmas and a total of ten before your birthday. December is going to be a busy month!" He jokes.

I start to laugh some. "You are right. We don't have anything planned for them and we sure as hell don't have anything for them for Christmas. The nursery isn't even finished. I need the stars up and another crib." I frown a little.

"I'll finish it…Stop worrying." He chuckles. "First…names." He insisted.

"Any ideas Walter?" I gently rock my boy.

"I'm sure it'll come to us. 'Tis the season…." He teases some.

"It is isn't it?" I bite my lip as I glance at our kids.

"What's on your mind?"

"What are some good holiday names?" I smile at him.

"Lets see. There's Joy, Holly, Noel, Christian, Nicholas, Mary, Carol, Star, Timothy, Gabriel, Joseph, and Christopher. I can't think of anything else." He tells me. He knew more then me right away.

"Wow, there are a lot. Um…."I glance down at my boy and think for a moment. "What do you think of Christopher Nicholas Skinner?" I ask and look up at him. He's blushing some what. "What's wrong?" I ask.

"Your giving them my last name?" He asks.

I can't help it I laugh at him. "Of course silly. I'm not gonna give them the name of Cook." I shake my head at him.

"Good point…not that there's anything wrong with that….Um.. I do like the name though. Has a good ring to it."

"So, dad! Since I named our son, what would you like to name our daughter?" I look at him and then down at her. She's sound a sleep and looks so small in his arms.

It takes him a few minutes and then he tells me. "How about Holly Joy Skinner?" He asks and looks at me.

"That's a very beautiful name Walter." I tell him honestly.

"Well then it fits perfectly. A beautiful name for a beautiful young lady." He brings his arms up and kisses her head. I can't help but smile at that sight. I don't care if Santa brings me anything for Christmas. I now have everything I've always wanted.

Dec. 24th 1997

Kim's House

The twins and I where just released from the hospital and Walter was at work earlier so he was just now able to pick us up and bring us home. I'm carrying in Holly and Walter has Chris. "Thank you for picking us up." I tell him as I set the car seat down for a moment to take off my coat.

"Hey, don't mention it." He tells me and steals a kiss. I smile at him.

"I'm going to put Holly down for an hour nap. I need to relax just a little." I tell him as I bend down and take Holly out of the car seat. "Come to mommy sweetie. We're gonna lay down for a nap." I say to her as I walk towards the nursery. I push open the door and turn the light on and freeze. My mouth is open as I look around the nursery. When did Walter come over and finish it? He even bought another crib. I can't believe it, it looks great.

I feel Walters hand on my shoulder. I turn and glance at him. "How…." I don't even know how to ask.

"I gave Mulder and Scully a four day weekend for the holiday if they came over and helped me finish the nursery. They where happy to help. I'm glad we finished before you where released."

I have tears coming down my face I just know I do. I reach up and brush them away. "Thank you so much." I lean forward and hug him. I'm careful not to smash Holly and Chris between us.

He rubs my back with his free hand and I sigh some. This is perfect. "Come on lets put the kids down and get you down for a nap too." He tells me and I nod my head reluctant to leave his arms. I pull back finally and we both step forward into the room. I see he even put names on the cribs to personalize them. I smile at that and I then lay Holly down. Walter does the same with Chris and he then walks over behind me and wraps his arms around me and rests his head on my shoulder. I put my hands over his that are now rested on my stomach. "I love you." I say more of a whisper.

"I love you too." He says and I smile. "Come on, lets go lay down." He lets go of me and turns on the baby monitor. I nod and turn off the lights. It's then I notice the stars. It's better then the glow in the dark ones. I look over at Walter. "Now how did you manage that?" I ask.

"I looked into it. I wanted it to be more realistic. So we used the fiber optics and made little holes in the ceiling and threaded them through. It's connected to this light switch. If you watch, you'll also see a shooting star." He takes me into the room and we watch the stars shine. I then see the shooting star.

"This is so much better then I could have imagined." I hug him.

"I thought you'd like it better. Sorry I didn't talk to you first about it. I just wanted the best for our kids." He starts to sway a little, almost like us dancing but just side to side.

"Don't be sorry. I love it. Thank you so much." I pause and look up again at the stars. "I could so sleep in here watching the stars every night." I tease.

"What? I do this and now you don't want to sleep with me?" He pouts some in a teasing manor.

"That's not what I meant." I let go of him but take his hand in mine and head for my…our bedroom. We get to the room and I strip out of my clothes slowly not to irritate my incision. I grab a t-shirt from my dresser and them climb into bed.

Walter strips down to his underwear and climbs under the covers. He moves closer to me and pulls me to him. I rest my head on his chest and relax. "I never asked you if you where ok with this?" I say to him.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, ok with having kids. You know being a part of their lives raising them taking care of them and everything else that comes along with being a parent." I ramble off.

"Kim, During these past 8 months, I've helped you out around the house, get things together and ready for their arrival, went to Lamaze and doctors appointments with you. I pretty much already considered myself as a father figure. Now it's legal. I am and I'm ready for this. I'm their father and I couldn't be happier." He pulls me closer to him.

"Me too." I yawn and close my eyes to get what little sleep I can before they wake up.

A few hours later I hear the cries of our kids. They must be hungry. I slide out of bed and hope I don't wake Walter. I hurry to the nursery. As I enter I start talking to them. "Hey now, what's all the fusing about?" I know but I wanted them to know I was here. Their cries die down and I can't help but smile. "Which one is hungry?" I look at both of them and they are just both looking at me. "Both huh? Well I don't know how I'll manage that one but lets see." I pick up Chris and then carefully pick up Holly. I walk over to the chair and I see there's a pillow and a blanket next to it. That I'm thankful for. I sit down and rest holly on my legs as I arrange Chris. This shirt has to go. Using one hand I pull it over my head. It lands on the floor. "Sorry guys. Mommy had a little help at the hospital and right now daddy needs sleep." I lean back and put Chris to my breast, he latches on quickly. He must have been REALLY hungry. I put the pillow under my arm and just then Walters walks in. "Need a hand?" He asks as he walks over to me and picks Holly up.

I smile at him. "Thank you." I say to him. He then lays Holly in my other arm and then pushes the pillow under that arm to. It helps a lot with the pillow.

"You know. Maybe we should get you one of those breast pump things. We could take turns in the middle of the night. We could fill some bottles up and just warm them when needed. Could help out a lot." He says as he sits on the stool in front of the chair. He covers my legs with the blanket and then just rubs them some.

"That we could do. We both could get more sleep." I pause. "I'm sorry I woke you."

"You didn't, I heard them and was just about to get out of bed when I felt you leave. So I stayed there for a moment and listened to you talking to them. It was cute." He reaches out and brushes their cheeks as they are both eating. I rest my head back against the chair and look at the ceiling. I still can't get over this room. It's beautiful.

A few minutes pass and I can tell they both have stopped eating and are now both sleeping. "Walter, could you get Holly?" I ask and he stands up and leans over. "Just use your finger to make her release my nipple." I all of a sudden got embarrassed. I'm not sure why. I look up at him and he's blushing too. I inhale his sent and then I feel his finger brush my nipple. He then stands straight up. I rush over and release Chris from me. I stand up and walk over to the table. I grab two burping cloths and put one on Walters shoulders. I then put the other one on mine and put Chris on my shoulder and gently pat and rub.

Once we burp the twins and change their diapers Walter and I both head back to bed. I fall asleep instantly in his arms.

I'm woken hours later with the cries or our kids. I smile and drag myself out of bed. I glance at the clock and see it's seven o'clock in the morning. They slept pretty good last night. Only getting up once. This I can handle if they kept this up.

"I'm right behind you." I hear Walter say and I continue into the nursery. I enter the nursery and smile. "Morning sweeties." I say to them and smile. "Ready for breakfast?" I say and pick Holly up. I see Walter walk in and he goes right over to Chris.

"Lets take you out to the living room. You'll have more room on the couch and I can get our breakfast started." He says and grabs my hand. I walk over to the couch and get situated and then put Holly to my breast. Walter then gives me Chris. "I think we may need to set it so they are different times so u can do one at a time." I mention to him and he rests a pillow under my arms. I smile at him.

"We'll get to it. Once we get a schedule set with them." He gives me a kiss and stands up. "What would you like for breakfast?" He asks.

"Um, something light. Maybe a bagel and cream cheese?" I shrug some and watch as he enters the kitchen after turning on the Christmas lights. I sit there and look around the living room. We did a great job. I then see the mantel and it has four stockings on it. One for me, Holly, Chris and himself. "Oh my god!" I whisper. "You're a very sweet man! I think I may just keep you after all Walter." I say to him.

He pokes his head around the door frame. "Why are you saying that?" He asks.

"You got all of us stockings? Thank you." I feel a tear slip down my cheek. "Merry Christmas Walter."

He walks over to me and kisses me again. "Merry Christmas to you…and you…and you.." He says to each up us and then gave us all a kiss. He then reenters the kitchen and I finish with our kids. "Daddy loves us I do believe." I watch them for awhile. A few minutes later Walter comes in and helps me burp them. We then change them and get them dressed. I pull out the little baby rocker and set it on the floor. I fasten in Holly and then do the same with Chris. "Now we eat." I say to him as I am so hungry. He hands me a plate. "This is good." He made us eggs, toast and bacon.

A few minutes pass and I'm just about done with my food when there's a knock at the door. I jump some remember what happened last time.

"I'll get it. You eat." Walter says and walks over to the door. He opens it and I hear him talking. I turn to glance over at the door to see who it is but can't see from here. I take another bite and then hear the most familiar voice in the world. "Kimberly?" My eyes just about bug out of my head and I whip around and see my mom standing there. "MOM!" I say and set my plate down and run to her. It hurt my stomach to do it but I haven't seen her in over a year. Jeff didn't want me to see her and pretty much stopped me from seeing her. I wrap my arms around her and hold her tight. "I've missed you." I tell her.

"I've missed you too sweetie." She tells me.

I pull back and look at her. "How'd you know?" I wanted to know.

"Walter called me when you where in the hospital. Told me everything." She pauses. "I'm glad Jeff's in jail. He was no good and I know he treated you like crap." I take a hold of her hand and pull her into the living room. "Mom, I'd like you to meet your grandkids."

"Grandkids? As in two?" She asks and I point to the baby rockers.

"Yes. This here is Christopher Nicholas and this here is Holly Joy." I tell her but don't give her the last names. Not yet anyways. I glance down at myself and realizes I'm in nothing but a night shirt. "Um, excuse me for just a moment." I say and head for the bedroom. I quickly find a pair of pajama bottoms.

Walters walks over to Kim's mom. "Mrs. Cook. Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course, Mr. Skinner." She sits there playing with her grandson but looks at Walter.

"Well, While Kim's not here I was just wondering….Well I wanted to do this the right way." He pauses a moment. "I'm in love with your daughter, have been for years and I would never hurt her. I want nothing more then to protect her and the kids. I would like your permission to marry her." He holds his breath.

Mrs. Cook looks at Mr. Skinner and is totally shocked. He does seem really nice and he was the one that was always there for her and took care of her to begin with and got the jerk arrested. She could tell he did love her. That's what Kim needed was to be loved. She only wanted her to be happy. She glances over at the mantel and sees the stockings. Wasn't Mr. Skinner's name Walter? She thought but then just smiled and looked back at him. "Yes you may. I can tell you really love her and I think that's what she needs."

"Thank you Mrs. Cook." He smiled at her. He stood up and walked over to the one drawer that was at the desk and pulled out the small box and glanced at her. "I was hoping I'd see you before we had Christmas. I had in just incase." He put the box into Kim's stocking and returned back to his seat.

Mrs. Cook laughed at him. "Your welcome."

I hurry up and get dressed. I didn't want to leave my mom being board with my kids for to long, granted they where probably just sleeping but never know. I reenter the living room and look at my mom and Walter. "What's going on?" I ask as I sit down.

"Nothing!" They both say at the same time. I shrug my shoulders and smile at my mom who is playing with Chris. "I'm sorry I didn't call you sooner." I tell her.

"No worries sweetie. Mr. Skinner called me and told me I was at least a grandmother and that Jeff was arrested. I was very thankful for that." She tells me.

I smile at him as I sit back some. "Merry Christmas by the way mom." I tell her and I know I put her gift under the tree. "Walter, Is there a gift under there for my mom. It's a medium size box that says for mom." I ask him. I'm comfortable and don't want to get up at the moment.

Walter smiles at me and walks over to the tree. He gets down on his knees and looks closer. He soon finds it and pulls it out and hands it to me. Just then Holly decides to fuse some and I watch as he crawls over to her. "What's all the fusing about?" He says as he picks her up out of the rocker. He then sits down in front of me. I look over and my mom is watching Walter with Holly. Man I haven't told her that Jeff isn't the father. She's probable going to kill me when she finds out.

I pick up the gift and hand it to her. "This is for you mom." I say and watch as she takes it.

"Shouldn't we do your stockings first?" My mom asks and I can't believe I forgot. We always did stockings first.

I smile at her. "Yeah, I wasn't even thinking about it." I start to get up but feel Walter's hand on my leg. "I'll get it." He stands up and hands Holly to me, she has calmed down since Walter picked her up. I take her from him and he walks over and grabs all the stockings. I wasn't even thinking about putting anything in for Walters, but then again I didn't have time. "Walter, I'm sorry.. I didn't have…"

"None of that now. And besides, I found the small wrapped gifts in your closet floor with my name on it." He smiles as he whispers to me as he hands me my stocking.

I can't help but blush as I hear that. I'm glad he found it though and glad I wrapped them. I stand up and put Holly back in her rocker and sit back down.

Walter sits in front of me and I glance at him. I haven't told my mom yet and I wonder if my mom knows anything. If he keeps it up she will know before I can tell her and I don't know how she will act to that one.

"There is one thing I need to do before we get started." Walter starts to say and he reaches into my stocking and pulls out a small box and I look at it and I'm wondering what he's doing. He's now on one knee and I glance at my mom out of the corner of my eye, but I hurry up and focus on Walter. "Kimberly Anne Cook, I am in love with you, have been for years. Will you Marry me?" He asks and holds open the box to show me a really nice ring.

My mouth drops and my breath gets stuck in my throat. I so can't believe it. "Oh god…Walter…Yes, I'll marry you!" I say and wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him. "I love you too." I tell him. I pull back and smile.

"Congratulations you two." I hear my mom say. I look over at her.

"You ok with this?" I ask her as Walter put the ring onto my finger.

"Of course. Walter asked me if it would be ok that he marry you. You finally do have a very nice handsome gentleman." She tells me and I would have to agree.

"Oh, by the way mom…..Jeff isn't the father of my kids….Walter is." I say and now she's got the shocked look on her face but it soon fades to a smile.

"I kind of figured that out Kim. He's good with you and the kids and the stocking told a little bit of it. I'm just glad your not tied to Jeff forever." She smiles at us.

"Tis the season for miracles. I guess I got my miracles." Now every Christmas will be a miracle, as long as we're together. This time next year we will be married. I smile at what the years will soon bring us.


End file.
